Election
Dear Editor: The World needs a Lullaby, not a trumpette.
Nancy Yaw Davis, Sitka
Alpine Adventure
Dear Editor: Thank you to the many helping hands that helped to put forth the 23rd running of the Alpine Adventure Run.
A special thank you to the following: U.S. Forest Service, Sitka Mountain Rescue, Sitka Police Department, Sitka Fire Department, Daily Sitka Sentinel, Raven Radio, Russell’s, Sitka Bottling Company, Northern Sales Company of Alaska Inc., Subway, Sea Mart, AC Lakeside, St, Gregory’s Catholic Church, Brian and Julie Beall, Tommy Joseph, James Poulson, Tom Hesse, Robert Woolsey, Father Andy Sensenig, Gary Perensovich, Rich MacIntyre, Mike Motti, Ryan Haug and family and friends, Holley Dennison, Lyndsey Jensen, Murray Lawson, Barbara Kendall, Jeanette Hitt, Ruth Culp and Kayla Perensovich. Thank you to the community of Sitka for your years of support!
The 24th running of the Alpine Adventure Run will be held on July 15, 2017. The opening date of registration will be announced in late January. The public is invited to view the pictures from this year’s run on Alpine Adventure Run on Facebook. Alpine Adventure Run photographer Ruth Culp did an amazing job!
To all you 2016 Alpine Adventure Runners- you all ROCK!
Christine Horan, Director,
Alpine Adventure Run Race
Thank You, SSA
Dear Editor: Thank you to the Sitka Sportsman’s Association and its members. I attended their talking session with Congressman Don Young about the 2nd Amendment. The members were kind, polite, and respectful as I shared my not-so-popular thoughts on guns, responsibility, and “gun control.” The members listened and “heard me out” (…better, I’d say, than the Congressman) and I think some even shared, just a tiny bit, some of my sentiment.
I appreciated their encouragement and respect. When someone thanks you and tells you you’ve got balls for saying what is important to you in the face of opposition, it makes you feel like there is hope yet for our political system. So thank you for letting me speak and listening as I gave my opinion on guns and how to manage them in America.
So what is my opinion on guns in America? While I support the right to bear arms (heck, one of my last birthday parties involved shooting three or four guns at the rifle range with 10 women!), I also feel like we need to make gun owners more responsible for their guns through legislation. I think every gun owner should have to take a safety class, keep their gun locked up, and be responsible if their gun is used in a crime.
I think we (and yes, I say we, because as a gun-owner, I include myself) should be unafraid to buy registered guns and register any gun that isn’t registered. I think all guns should be registered and only be sold through licensed dealers. And I think we need more background checks with a longer waiting period to get your gun and better ways to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous or unstable people. Yes, I know parts of these are already in place. But I think we can support the 2nd Amendment AND take more personal responsibility AND protect more people from gun violence. As with so many things in politics, I don’t think we have to choose one or the other; I think we can choose the best parts of one and the other.
I’ll end with this … I am truly grateful I live in Sitka with thoughtful, kind people who make even a divisive political issue like guns more polite and respectful. Thank you!
Michelle Putz, Sitka
